*~*~*~* Official TMDSAS Questions Thread 2023-2024 *~*~*~*

[wysdoc]

What does “preliminary review” mean for UTMB ? It said that on an email I received after the secondary email but it says that wording on the another email received stating I got a fee waiver.

It likely means their system sees that you submitted your primary and are a US citizen or permanent resident.
They may also screen for Socioeconomic status and hence offered you a fee waiver for the secondary fee (maybe you said you are eligible for FAP for AMCAS) TMDSAS does not offer a fee waiver for the primary app but some of the schools will waive the secondary fee if asked, and a couple of schools don't charge a secondary fee.
I am pretty sure a human has not read your application yet, but they will do that after you submit your secondaries!

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[Enne]

Go to the TMDSAS guide and read the rules on activities please. Yeah, I know, that’s like when a professor tells you “it’s in the syllabus.” But it is.
If you still are confused, TMDSAS holds a live help session every week on YouTube in which you can ask questions like this directly to the TMDSAS staff.
You must enter the emails and names of your recommenders on your TMDSAS primary application. The recommenders need to upload their letters by the instructions sent them, unless you are using a document service like Interfolio. Interfolio will forward the letters you have collected when you instruct them.

Thanks, I think I panicked and just missed it - found what I was looking for

 

[remaininganonymous]

I have previous medical scribe experience for different companies. Do I list everything out in both the employment section AND the healthcare activities section? Wasn't sure if it would be weird to have things repeated in the application.

 

[wysdoc]

I have previous medical scribe experience for different companies. Do I list everything out in both the employment section AND the healthcare activities section? Wasn't sure if it would be weird to have things repeated in the application.

It's up to you - Some people want to make sure they have something in both healthcare activities and employment sections, but it's more important to have things in the Healthcare section.

 

[remaininganonymous]

It's up to you - Some people want to make sure they have something in both healthcare activities and employment sections, but it's more important to have things in the Healthcare section.

Thank you! I'll add it to the healthcare section for sure. I've scribed previously with 3 different companies. 2 were virtual and 1 was in person. Should I add all 3 of them separately? Or lump them all together? Maybe lump all the scribing in one entry for the healthcare activities section and then have them separated out for employment?

 

[wysdoc]

Thank you! I'll add it to the healthcare section for sure. I've scribed previously with 3 different companies. 2 were virtual and 1 was in person. Should I add all 3 of them separately? Or lump them all together? Maybe lump all the scribing in one entry for the healthcare activities section and then have them separated out for employment?

Or virtual scribing separate from in-person

 

[swifty1027]

Has anyone that submitted their primary after 5/15 gotten verified yet? I'm just curious to see if the status on the TMDSAS page is accurate.

 

[TxMed55]

Has anyone that submitted their primary after 5/15 gotten verified yet? I'm just curious to see if the status on the TMDSAS page is accurate.

Pretty sure it’s accurate I got verified 3 days after (18th) I submitted the 15th super close to 8am that day. Also I submitted my letters of rec through interfolio that day a little later and it still hasn’t shown on my portal.

 

[stere0psis]

Has anyone that submitted their primary after 5/15 gotten verified yet? I'm just curious to see if the status on the TMDSAS page is accurate.

submitted mine on 5/15, pretty much when it opened, and got verified yesterday afternoon. I had to provide some residency documentation which I submitted yesterday morning and it was transmitted shortly after.

 

[JustBoughtAHammock]

Has anyone that submitted their primary after 5/15 gotten verified yet? I'm just curious to see if the status on the TMDSAS page is accurate.

Submitted mine at 9:40 AM on 5/15 and was verified on 5/19.

 

[TxMed55]

FYI for anyone that has taken classes at a quarter system school put in the decimal value of how many units the classes are worth do not convert to semester hours TMDSAS will do that for you. I had an issue on the number of semester hours on PCR and just got it fixed and it was because I thought I needed to convert to semester hours when it asked in the application.

 

[wysdoc]

FYI for anyone that has taken classes at a quarter system school put in the decimal value of how many units the classes are worth do not convert to semester hours TMDSAS will do that for you. I had an issue on the number of semester hours on PCR and just got it fixed and it was because I thought I needed to convert to semester hours when it asked in the application.

Thanks for sharing your experience with that, it’s always a confusing issue

 

[cakeunderground]

Made a small submission error. I accidentally put the location of a my university’s Dean’s Award list as Los Angeles, Illinois instead of Los Angeles, California …

I’m probably being paranoid but this won’t cause any delays in my processing right? Anyone have any experience asking TMDSAS if they could change something like this?

 

[wysdoc]

Made a small submission error. I accidentally put the location of a my university’s Dean’s Award list as Los Angeles, Illinois instead of Los Angeles, California …

I’m probably being paranoid but this won’t cause any delays in my processing right? Anyone have any experience asking TMDSAS if they could change something like this?

There's a Los Angeles, Illinois? LOL.
Nobody will probably notice, but if you are worried about it message TMDSAS ask them to change it for you.
Be brief, that sentence you wrote above is enough.

 

[TxMed55]

Does anyone have an idea when interfolio letters of rec should show on portal ? I submitted them on the 15th and I seems like they haven't received them yet but AMCAS received them and marked them on my portal within a few days.

 

[wysdoc]

Does anyone have an idea when interfolio letters of rec should show on portal ? I submitted them on the 15th and I seems like they haven't received them yet but AMCAS received them and marked them on my portal within a few days.

TMDSAS guide says the processing time for Interfolio letters is 10-14 days. If Interfolio sent them, don’t fret.
FYI everyone, schools don’t read your letters this early

 

[salt_b]

The application guide makes it sound like the PCR should populate immediately after you submit your application. Am I wrong to assume that someone creates your PCR manually and it will take some time to populate on your homepage?

 

[TxMed55]

The application guide makes it sound like the PCR should populate immediately after you submit your application. Am I wrong to assume that someone creates your PCR manually and it will take some time to populate on your homepage?

you get it once you are verified and they transmit your application. They manually do the the PCR for u.

 

[wysdoc]

The application guide makes it sound like the PCR should populate immediately after you submit your application. Am I wrong to assume that someone creates your PCR manually and it will take some time to populate on your homepage?

The PCR is created by TMDSAS staff as they verify your app and your course listings and categories. You will get a message in your portal when it is ready.
Processing time is rapid right now for you early birds, but as more apps stack up it will approach about 4 weeks.

 

[wysdoc]

I submitted my app last Friday (05/19). How long should it take TMDSAS to process this? It still says they are processing apps from the first day it opened (05/15)

Lots of people must have submitted on 5/15 since they are still working on submissions from that day!
While you're waiting, you can do CASPer or anything else your schools want.

 

[wysdoc]

I sincerely hope that TMDSAS has other volunteers to assist beyond the staff members listed on their website. If not, it could become extremely overwhelming to handle the task of answering questions and processing thousands of applications. Today, Mr. Jasso personally responded to my query.

They do not have "volunteers" but they do have a staff of experienced employees!

 

[hornzup]

I submitted mine 8:01 am on 5/15. However, I am still not verified. I noticed that on the TMDSAS website they are currently processing applications submitted on 5/16.

I did have someone from TMDSAS reach out to me a few days ago regarding a colleges attended question, to which I responded immediately and they fixed it. Should I reach out to see if there's anything else that's causing problems? Just worried I might get delayed or something.

 

[wysdoc]

I submitted mine 8:01 am on 5/15. However, I am still not verified. I noticed that on the TMDSAS website they are currently processing applications submitted on 5/16.

I did have someone from TMDSAS reach out to me a few days ago regarding a colleges attended question, to which I responded immediately and they fixed it. Should I reach out to see if there's anything else that's causing problems? Just worried I might get delayed or something.

If you replied to their query you should be good, just check your portal daily to see when they have finished reviewing.

 

[randompremed457]

This might be a little early, but as a neurotic person, it was around this time that I started freaking out about verification times. etc. So I’ll throw in my data point to hopefully put some of y’all at waste.

Last year I submitted around early-mid June and was verified at the very end of June.

Due to committee letter delay, my full application (secondaries + letters of Rec) was not complete until the end of July.

This did not in anyway kill my app and I did just fine in the cycle.

Hopefully that helps anyone concerned about delays!

 

[longstoryshorty]

Hey y'all, I just reviewed my PCR and it lists a couple categories as "deficient" - namely English (should be covered by AP credit at most schools, and if not I have other humanities classes that required significant writing, and I know many schools accept that). It was also missing a single bio hour, but I have taken graduate coursework in that area which isn't included on the PCR. I'm just wondering if schools will cut me out for my PCR not meeting the prereqs?

Sorry this might be neurotic but if I need to appeal to TMDSAS I'd want to do it ASAP!

 

[wysdoc]

Hey y'all, I just reviewed my PCR and it lists a couple categories as "deficient" - namely English (should be covered by AP credit at most schools, and if not I have other humanities classes that required significant writing, and I know many schools accept that). It was also missing a single bio hour, but I have taken graduate coursework in that area which isn't included on the PCR. I'm just wondering if schools will cut me out for my PCR not meeting the prereqs?

Sorry this might be neurotic but if I need to appeal to TMDSAS I'd want to do it ASAP!

Message TMDSAS in your portal to address the Bio credit and have a course description or syllabus ready to upload if they ask for it.
The only TMDSAS school that does NOT accept AP credits for English is Baylor, but they will accept another college course you had in which expository writing was a large element.

 

[sugasathya]

Hey y'all, I just reviewed my PCR and it lists a couple categories as "deficient" - namely English (should be covered by AP credit at most schools, and if not I have other humanities classes that required significant writing, and I know many schools accept that). It was also missing a single bio hour, but I have taken graduate coursework in that area which isn't included on the PCR. I'm just wondering if schools will cut me out for my PCR not meeting the prereqs?

Sorry this might be neurotic but if I need to appeal to TMDSAS I'd want to do it ASAP!

Does your University transcript shows the equivalent English course credited from AP course ? Note Baylor doesn't allow any AP course. But I guess you could project courses that are deficient and take it in next couple of semesters.

 

[hornzup]

My application has been transmitted. Sorry if this is a dumb question, but where on the portal can I view the PCR?

 

[wysdoc]

My application has been transmitted. Sorry if this is a dumb question, but where on the portal can I view the PCR?

View your PCR​

Your PCR can be downloaded as a PDF from your application homepage under “To view your Application or PCR in PDF form, click on the links below for the entry year.” It will appear as a blue hyperlink. Be aware that you may need to turn off your pop-up blockers in order to download the PDF.

 

[hornzup]

Thanks for your help @wysdoc!

One more question! I initially had two science recommendation letters, but my PCR shows that one of the classes that I thought was science was determined to be engineering. So currently these are all my letters:
1) 1 from engineering professor
2) 1 from an engineering professor and research PI. Research was biomolecular stuff
3) 1 from a Science professor (Biochemistry)
4) 1 from a physician I shadowed

Does this fulfill all the requirements, or do schools want 2 science letters?

 

[wysdoc]

Thanks for your help @wysdoc!

One more question! I initially had two science recommendation letters, but my PCR shows that one of the classes that I thought was science was determined to be engineering. So currently these are all my letters:
1) 1 from engineering professor
2) 1 from an engineering professor and research PI. Research was biomolecular stuff
3) 1 from a Science professor (Biochemistry)
4) 1 from a physician I shadowed

Does this fulfill all the requirements, or do schools want 2 science letters?

Those are fine!

 

[hornzup]

Usually how many days after applications are transmitted do we receive secondaries? Tryna figure out how *stressfully* I should pre-write them.

 

[wysdoc]

Usually how many days after applications are transmitted do we receive secondaries? Tryna figure out how *stressfully* I should pre-write them.

For those very early submitters, 4 schools have sent secondaries.
So it looks like about 3-4 days after your app goes out to schools. If you want to pre-write, follow the TMDSAS school threads here on SDN.
Remember Long has no secondary and Dell only invites about 20% of applicants to do a secondary.
The rest are pretty instant with theirs.

 

[TxMed55]

For those very early submitters, 4 schools have sent secondaries.
So it looks like about 3-4 days after your app goes out to schools. If you want to pre-write, follow the TMDSAS school threads here on SDN.
Remember Long has no secondary and Dell only invites about 20% of applicants to do a secondary.
The rest are pretty instant with theirs.

do you know which 4 ? ive only received two secondaries and the dell info email on their process.

 

[wysdoc]

do you know which 4 ? ive only received two secondaries and the dell info email on their process.

SHSU, UTMB, A&M and TCOM

 

[SWR1913]

View your PCR​

Your PCR can be downloaded as a PDF from your application homepage under “To view your Application or PCR in PDF form, click on the links below for the entry year.” It will appear as a blue hyperlink. Be aware that you may need to turn off your pop-up blockers in order to download the PDF.

Does your PCR appear automatically or we have to wait for application to be accepted by TMDSAS

 

[wysdoc]

Does your PCR appear automatically or we have to wait for application to be accepted by TMDSAS

See my answer here: *~*~*~* Official TMDSAS Questions Thread 2023-2024 *~*~*~*

 

[MBurci]

Where do we put certificates on TMDSAS? Also do y'all recommend submitting the 4th letter of evaluation in addition to the committee packet?

 

[wysdoc]

Where do we put certificates on TMDSAS? Also do y'all recommend submitting the 4th letter of evaluation in addition to the committee packet?

Good question-
Enter certificates in nonacademic recognition.

A 4th letter can be uploaded to TMDSAS by the author. Simply list the writer’s contact info in your TMDSAS application and TMDSAS will send them a link to upload.

 

[SWR1913]

I submitted my app last Friday (05/19). How long should it take TMDSAS to process this? It still says they are processing apps from the first day it opened (05/15)

Same. Good luck

 

[dpflr]

Message TMDSAS in your portal to address the Bio credit and have a course description or syllabus ready to upload if they ask for it.
The only TMDSAS school that does NOT accept AP credits for English is Baylor, but they will accept another college course you had in which expository writing was a large element.

So if I had a college course that included a large element of expository writing, could I code it as English in my coursework section and have a copy of my syllabus or course description ready if I was asked for it? I have AP credit for English but since Baylor does not accept it, I was wondering if this would be fine to avoid any delays with TMDSAS and messaging back and forth to get it changed after submission.

 

[sugasathya]

So if I had a college course that included a large element of expository writing, could I code it as English in my coursework section and have a copy of my syllabus or course description ready if I was asked for it? I have AP credit for English but since Baylor does not accept it, I was wondering if this would be fine to avoid any delays with TMDSAS and messaging back and forth to get it changed after submission.

Typically the University would assign some courses as writing as part of General education requirement. For example in University of Michigan, CLCIV ( Classical Civilization I ) doesn't explicitly have the title as writing course., but it fills the first year writing requirement for the University. Good luck.

 

[wysdoc]

So if I had a college course that included a large element of expository writing, could I code it as English in my coursework section and have a copy of my syllabus or course description ready if I was asked for it? I have AP credit for English but since Baylor does not accept it, I was wondering if this would be fine to avoid any delays with TMDSAS and messaging back and forth to get it changed after submission.

I haven’t had anyone ask me that question before so I don’t have a good answer for you.
Usually what happens is if, for instance, Baylor accepts you, you will communicate with them and ask them if they would accept your “exploration of the Pokémon mythology” course as a writing credit because you wrote several lengthy research papers in that course.
I think if you code a history class as English in the TMDSAS application they might correct it back to history as they verify your application.
Try joining in to the TMDSAS office hours live YouTube session on Tuesday and you can ask them before you turn in your application.

 

[hornzup]

Received secondaries from A&M and UTMB! And the Dell email that they will send it out to 20% of people.

Also I don't think it matters too much, but I listed certificates in the Academic Recognition section.

 

[wysdoc]

Received secondaries from A&M and UTMB! And the Dell email that they will send it out to 20% of people.

Also I don't think it matters too much, but I listed certificates in the Academic Recognition section.
View attachment 372213

Good point, @hornzup
It depends on what the certificate is. If it's something academic, yes. If it's a CNA certificate, First Aid certificate, food service certificate or other things it could fit better in non-academic.

 

[TxMed55]

With TMDSAS is it okay to not fit the two week rule for secondaries ? Ive received the Md schools that have sent out secondaries but im currently focused on the AMCAS application is it okay to submit them later since I received my UTMB secondary last week.

 

[wysdoc]

With TMDSAS is it okay to not fit the two week rule for secondaries ? Ive received the Md schools that have sent out secondaries but im currently focused on the AMCAS application is it okay to submit them later since I received my UTMB secondary last week.

Read the secondary invitation carefully word by word to see if there is a deadline. From what I can discover only UTRGV put a firm 2 week deadline on their secondary. There are some AMCAS schools with hard and fast deadlines too.

 

[remaininganonymous]

I plan on retaking the MCAT on July 15, with a score release on August 15. Does this sound too late? I do plan on submitting my primary application the beginning of July. I've taken the MCAT twice before, prior to being treated for ADHD. I'm doing a lot better preparing this time around since I am being treated, but I still want to maximize the amount of time I can study before that 3rd retake. I figured that July 15 was the last possible date I should consider. Thoughts?

 

[TxMed55]

I plan on retaking the MCAT on July 15, with a score release on August 15. Does this sound too late? I do plan on submitting my primary application the beginning of July. I've taken the MCAT twice before, prior to being treated for ADHD. I'm doing a lot better preparing this time around since I am being treated, but I still want to maximize the amount of time I can study before that 3rd retake. I figured that July 15 was the last possible date I should consider. Thoughts?

I wouldn’t say it’s an end all but I would say to have everything else like secondaries and Casper completed so that u are reviewed as fast as possible when the score is released. If u are a lower stats applicant it may put u at a disadvantage though

 

[wysdoc]

I plan on retaking the MCAT on July 15, with a score release on August 15. Does this sound too late? I do plan on submitting my primary application the beginning of July. I've taken the MCAT twice before, prior to being treated for ADHD. I'm doing a lot better preparing this time around since I am being treated, but I still want to maximize the amount of time I can study before that 3rd retake. I figured that July 15 was the last possible date I should consider. Thoughts?

Are you a reapplicant or is this your first time applying? The schools will initially see your 2 prior MCAT scores and may set your application aside until they also see your new score.